By Aaron Bishop
Harmony, MN
In the previous week’s commentary, many opinions and several falsehoods were expressed. Since I hold the view that everyone is entitled to their own opinions, but not their own facts, let’s delve into one particular falsehood that I’ll, perhaps naively, consider as the foundation for the overall sentiment: “Nature proves that sex was intended to be between a male and a female, the result being procreation. Nature does not support homosexuality, therefore it is unnatural to this world, and that is reality.” – Nancy S. Earnhardt
Ignoring the fallacious logic here, my questions to Nancy, and other subscribers to this concept, are: What if you discovered this was factually incorrect? What if nature not only has ample evidence that homosexuality is naturally occurring throughout the animal kingdom, what if it also provides evidence there is a benefit to procreation? Would new evidence contradicting your belief change your perspective? Afterall, your claim is indeed false. Not only does nature support homosexuality, it flourishes. Homosexuality is observed so often in the natural world that there are enough examples of human and non-human species with homosexual preferences to fill a public library full of books.
“Same-sex sexual behavior, that is, any attempted sexual activity between members of the same sex, has been reported in over 1,500 animal species, including all main groups from invertebrates such as insects, spiders, echinoderms, and nematodes, to vertebrates such as fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals. Same-sex sexual behavior is particularly prevalent in nonhuman primates where it has been observed in at least 51 species from lemurs to apes. This sexual behavior is not limited to one sex or to the existence of artificial conditions, as it has been observed in males and females both in captivity and in wild conditions. Same-sex sexual behavior is also frequent in humans, existing throughout most of our history and in many societies and cultures.” – Source: Nature, “The Evolution of Same-Sex Sexual Behavior in Mammals.”
In other words, homosexuality is just as natural as bisexuality, heterosexuality, asexuality, and hermaphroditism, however, the occurrence frequency may differ. Please understand that we live in a continuum, not a binary, world of biology. There are species that are hermaphroditic or have cloning capabilities; there is a continuum of intersex individuals where phenotypical gonad expressions don’t match their chromosomes (which accounts for 0.018 – 1.7% of the human population, depending on which definition one uses). While it is true that evolution has mostly favored male-female sexual reproduction, 1) it’s not exclusive, and 2) it’s not all that straightforward. Did you know there’s a species with seven sexes? Tetrahymena thermophila. We can indeed discuss why two-sex sexual reproduction has been biologically successful (as opposed to cloning or multi-sex reproduction), but how boring to talk only about what’s most common and successful? What of the uncommon, yet still natural and evolutionarily successful?
The theory of evolution by natural selection states that life is descended from a common ancestor (supported by genetics). It contends that individuals with the greatest fitness (producing viable offspring) will have the greatest chances of success. Many species are hermaphroditic, and others are able to change their sex depending on certain environmental, temporal, or even social conditions. I hope you’re beginning to see the fluidity of sexuality, as opposed to seeing it solely as binary (because it is not). Suggesting that sex is solely for reproduction is demonstrably false and misleading. I’m sure many mature readers would agree.
Let’s turn to the natural question that arises: how on earth can a sexual orientation/action that directly produces no offspring be supported by nature? You guessed it, indirectly.
Genetic success is still (partially) attained through a relatives’ offspring. Simply put, kin-selection highlights the important role individual homosexuals play in supporting their siblings’ offspring, allowing for greater fitness of their own genetics.
As for your term “homosexual agenda,” what does this mean? A homosexual’s ability to adopt children or give blood or be guaranteed equal rights and protections under the law? Keep in mind, the inability to sequester the equal rights of others is not an infringement upon your own rights… unless, of course, you support actively curtailing theirs.
Ann Benson says
Yes, and adding chemicals to water can causeca endocrine disruption to water resulting in frogs changing from male to female. So now we have an anomaly, a perversion and a deviation of the natural order of things. All people should have secondary characteristics that determine their sexuality and are compatible with the opposite sex. If not, we have an anomaly. That is just the way it is.